Some communications or network systems process a communication at one node in a hierarchical stack of processing layers in which the lowest layer in the stack modulates the communication into a waveform and transmits the waveform to another node, which receives and demodulates the waveform with the lowest layer in its stack and then further processes the demodulated waveform through successively higher layers of its stack to reproduce the original communication. Because the lowest layer in the stacks in both nodes, among other things, modulates bits into and demodulates bits from waveforms that are transmitted between the nodes, particular stability and precision is required in the lowest layer in each node. For example, if the carrier frequency, data rate, spreading rate, modulation technique, and/or other such characteristics of the modulated waveforms generated at the sending node drifts, changes, or otherwise is not precisely known or becomes unknown at the receiving node, the receiving node might be unable to demodulate the incoming modulated waveforms and could even lose synchronization or be unable to synchronize with those waveforms. Thus, because the lowest layers in the stacks of the sending node and the receiving node can be processing and detecting at a bit level, the characteristics of the modulation and other processing at those lowest levels should be precise, and an accurate characterization should be had and maintained.
Some embodiments of the present invention are directed to apparatuses and processes for efficiently communicating between the nodes a change in the characteristics of the processing that occurs in the lowest layers in the stacks in the nodes while maintaining the strict precision required to maintain communications between the nodes.